What are your thoughts about the appropriateness of gory, demonic costumes and p

1. 74

   prektjr.dcposted 11 years ago

   What are your thoughts about the appropriateness of gory, demonic costumes and parties for children?
   
     As a Christian, I do not participate in these types of Halloween activities anyway....yet as a parent, grandparent and teacher, I know how very much children LOVE to dress up in costumes and to celebrate holidays of any type.  I did not allow my children to participate in the gory activities until they were older (about 16) and then they mostly were only interested in the spook house events.  While they were young I kept it to a more fall type event.  What are your thoughts? Why?

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2. 87

   krillcoposted 11 years ago

   One year, when my son was small, about age eight, and dressed like a pirate, we walked up to a door lit by a porch light on Halloween night to 'trick or treat'. There happened to be a girl of about 3 behind us, with angel wings on. My son, a gentleman, let the little girl go before us, just as the owner of the home came to the door and began to rail that we were all going to hell and were cooperating with the devil. She could have just not had her light lit, so this was clearly entrapment. The poor little angel-girl was visibly shaken by this verbal onslaught. When I politely suggested that the woman may want to turn out her light, she once again lit in to me, accusing me of being a devil worshiper and stating that my son was going to go to hell.
   
   I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Pastoral Counseling degree, and have been a volunteer and professional youth minister for decades. True, I'm a sinner, but I'm also a pretty good guy and a Christian. I have helped my sons costume from anything from clowns to pirates, to zombies and headless horsemen. Such frightening costumes are a way for kids to process the fear of death and decay, as well as the truths in life of (genuine) evil. It's a way to laugh at death and evil...and really, isn't that what being a believer is partly about? Calm down, have some spooky fun...it won't send you to hell.

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      CraftytotheCoreposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I would love to see a Hub on a headless horseman costume.  It's a pretty popular theme this year.

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      prektjr.dcposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wow..she really had issues! As a Christian, I'm not worried about going to hell. I do have concerns about desensitizing children too much but hadn't thought about it being an avenue for processing death....interesting!  Thanks for commenting!

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3. 75

   CraftytotheCoreposted 11 years ago

   My children have never wanted to dress up in anything gory.  Usually my son likes to dress in ninja costumes.  My daughter dresses like princesses and fairies.  The school stopped allowing Halloween celebrations at all.  Now they call it dress like a storybook character day.

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      prektjr.dcposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't have to work hard to encourage my kids to keep down the gore.  I think my favorite was the scuba diver my son surprised me with one year.  Thanks for commenting!

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4. 36

   thomasczechposted 11 years ago

   I do not agree with halloween at all. Ive never done it and my children do not partake in it either. As Christians we have nothing to do with the pagan celebration and we do not condone it either. if anyone is interest in reading about it, I have a hub on it on my page.

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      prektjr.dcposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Technically MOST holidays celebrated are "pagan"(civilian, rustic) unless you celebrate the Jewish holidays. So celebrating even Valentine's Day is pagan.  The question is about types of costuming for children. I won't debate religion in this forum.

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